5th endangered Florida panther struck by vehicle in November; deadliest month of 2023

For the 13th time in 2023, an endangered Florida panther was struck and killed by a vehicle.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Panther Pulse, a 5-year-old male panther, identified as UCFP449, was struck by a vehicle on U.S. Highway 27, south of State Road 17 in Glades County on Sunday.

November has been the deadliest month for the Florida panther in 2023. Dead panthers were discovered on Nov. 6 and 7. Then, two dead panthers were found on the same day on Nov. 12. This is the fifth dead panther discovered in November. No other month this year has had more than two deaths reported.

Until Sept. 17, there were seven Florida panther deaths in 2023. Since then, six more dead panthers were discovered in a period of less than three months.

Vehicle collisions have been the reported cause of every Florida panther death recorded by FWC in 2023. This could be the first year since Panther Pulse records began in 2014 that every reported death has been unnatural: caused by vehicle collisions.

• RELATED: 2 dead endangered Florida panthers found on the same day, first time since 2021
• RELATED: 3-month-old Florida panther dies from car crash in Collier County

Florida Panther Deaths

Below is the amount of dead Florida panthers that were found in specific counties in 2023.

• Glades County – 2
• Hendry County – 3
• Collier County – 8

Seven of the 13 dead pathers discovered were males. Despite the low total number of deaths reported, it’s unclear to experts if this is a concerning trend.

At five years old, this latest panther death may be of the oldest dead Florida panther discovered this year. Interestingly, on Nov. 7, a dead female panther was found in Glades County between 3 and 5 years old, too. While most panther sightings are in Collier County, the two oldest dead panthers discovered in 2023 may have been in Glades County.

Deadliest Florida Panther Months

Below is a list of any month with five or more Florida panther deaths since 2014, with April 2016 marking the deadliest of all months.

• November 2023 – five deaths
• May 2022 – six deaths
• January 2022 – five deaths
• January 2020 – six deaths
• November 2019 – five deaths
• October 2018 – five deaths
• February 2018 – seven deaths
• October 2016 – five deaths
• April 2016 – nine deaths
• February 2016 – five deaths
• December 2015 – six deaths
• July 2015 – five deaths
• March 2015 – five deaths
• January 2015 – five deaths
• December 2014 – six deaths
• August 2014 – five deaths
• April 2014 – five deaths

Helping Endangered Florida Panthers

Panther Crossing is an organization efforting Florida panther safety on the roads. When you see a Panther Crossing sign on the road drivers should reduce their speed to 45 mph. Driving 45 mph should give motorists more time to react should they see a panther on the road.

In a three-mile-long panther crossing zone, reducing your speed from 60 to 45 mph only adds a minute to your commute. Those 60 seconds added to your drive could mean a lifetime for any panther.

• RELATED: Florida Panther Conservation: Protecting the State Animal of Florida

Getting a panther plate from The Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund is another way to help the endangered species. The license plate costs $25 annually, and every dollar goes to helping the endangered species.

You can also directly donate to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida’s Florida Panther Fund. Click here to learn more about the Florida Panther Fund.

Click here to learn more from FWC about living with Florida panthers and ways to help protect them.

There were 27 reported Florida panther deaths in 2022, 2021, and 2019. There were 22 reported deaths in 2020. FWC says there are between 120 and 230 adult Florida panthers left in the wild.